Crisis-hit SAD saw silver lining in land policy to turn its political fortunes

Time of India

15 hours ago

Chandigarh: The now-scrapped land pooling policy of the AAP-led govt came as a blessing in disguise for the crisis-hit SAD, providing an opportunity to re-emerge in the political landscape on an issue that resonated with the rural peasantry — one of the core constituencies of the party.
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The SAD had heavily relied on this constituency when it formed two consecutive givts in 2007 and 2012, but it has been on a decline since then.
The party's tally of seats slid to three in 2022 from 15 in 2017 in the 117-member Punjab vidhan sabha.
Facing challenges from rival groups, SAD president
went all out to mobilise the party cadre to launch an aggressive campaign against the controversial policy. He held protests at several places and announced last week the start of an indefinite morcha beginning Sept 1 from Gurdwara Amb Sahib in Mohali until the policy was rolled back.
Badal was lying low initially after being declared tankhahiya (guilty of religious misconduct) by Akal Takht in Aug last year. This was followed by the Dec 2, 2024, Akal Takht 'hukamnama' (edict), which his rivals used to intensify their verbal attacks on him. Badal, who was re-elected as SAD president on April 12 amid rising criticism from the rival group, swiftly latched onto the controversy and spearheaded a series of protests, dubbing the policy as a "land grabbing scheme" of AAP.
On Monday, when the AAP-led govt eventually decided to scrap the policy, Badal was leading a protest against it in Patiala. After the policy was rolled back, Badal stated, "We have forced the AAP govt of Punjab to withdraw the land pooling scheme by leading a grassroots agitation in which lakhs of people participated."
During the protests, Badal sought to emphasise that SAD was dedicated to safeguarding Punjab's farmers, farm labourers, traders, and other sections of Punjabi society.
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He accused AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal of having done "an underhand deal with Delhi builders to hand over 65,000 acres of land to them at throwaway prices to fund AAP's election campaign across the country."
On July 28, Badal led a dharna in Mohali against the policy amid rain, promising that not even an inch of farmers' land would be allowed to be "grabbed." Days after the schedule for the Ludhiana West elections was announced, he led a protest outside the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) in late May in Ludhiana, the epicentre of the protests against the controversial policy.
On July 22, during a dharna outside the Ludhiana DC office, which was part of a series of protests announced by the SAD, he appealed to the affected village panchayats to pass resolutions against the "forceful acquisition.
" On August 4, he led a party dharna against the policy in Bathinda.
Vowing to "return the lands of farmers" and "stand with them till the end" in case of "forceful acquisition," Badal was eyeing a change of fortunes for the party ahead of the 2027 Punjab assembly elections while banking on the controversial land pooling policy. However, with AAP rolling it back at a time when SAD was gathering steam on the issue, the party is back to square one.
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